Meaning

Sadie Jean Hoffer was born at 2:58 p.m. on August 2, 2016.  She is beautiful, peaceful, and a blessing from God.   

The following evening I stared intently at her while she slept.  The room was quiet and my thoughts were on her life. Who will she become?  What roads will she travel?  What challenges will she face?  What will she accomplish? 

Looking at her sweet face made me contemplate what really matters. Money, fame, or possessions, all mean very little at the beginning of life, and at its end.  The dependency of a child or an aging grandparent makes this crystal clear.  All of our achievements aimed to improve our own lives and ensure our own happiness leave us empty in the end.  Life’s funny like that.  It’s only by living outside ourselves and working to improve the lives of others that we begin to grasp a meaningful and fulfilling life.  

But it's so easy to forget this in the midst of the busyness and the to-dos that preoccupy about 99% of our lives. I, for one, know I can still be very self-centered and selfish.  Having three kids five and under tests my selfishness on a daily basis. They need to be fed, changed, played with…and all these demands don’t seem like meaningful interactions but rather interruptions to my own agenda.  At the wrong moment, I don't respond well.  (Isn’t there an app for all this?)

Self-centeredness doesn't get parked at home either. The extent my focus is on improving the lives of others is directly associated with my happiness level at work.  As Patrick Lencioni reminds me, servant leadership is the only kind. Thus proper leadership is also the pathway to meaningful work. 

These reminders may be the greatest unforeseen gift of parenthood.  Asked years ago, I would have thought about me, but parenting is about them. The same for Hoffer Plastics customers and team members.  The same for my boys.  It is simply not about me. 

The same for Sadie.  

My prayer for you, Sadie, is that you grasp this reality with everything you have.  Nobody I know embodies it better than your mother.  Like her, be someone who puts others first.  Like her, demonstrate selflessness so that your father is convicted by his selfishness. 

Regardless, know that I love you and will lay my life down for you.  

Always.